19 flood insurance claims·$615,778 paid·4 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Rockcastle County, Kentucky. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from severe weather systems narrowly outpaces general riverine flooding in Rockcastle County, with NOAA records detailing 41 flash flood events and 34 general flood events over the last 30 years. Recent significant events include flash flooding driven by a nocturnal convective squall line in April 2025, and slow-moving thunderstorms interacting with a stationary front and remnants of Tropical Storm Debby in August 2024. Additionally, training showers and thunderstorms along a stalled warm front caused flooding on New Year's Day 2022.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate historical claims across multiple zones, reflecting varied impacts. Zone A properties account for 10 claims with an average payout of $29,783 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties account for 8 claims with a higher average payout of $43,258 and a deeper average recorded water depth of 14 inches. One claim was recorded in an unknown zone with an average payout of $1,667 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists working with properties in both designated high-risk areas and moderate-to-low risk Zone X areas should pay close attention to these historical flood patterns and claim distributions.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 7 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2021, with 6 claims and $325,333 paid, the year of Severe, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
30 NOAA storm reports from Rockcastle County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Kentucky flood stories →
33 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | May 16, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 2, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Apr 2, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, And Landslides | Feb 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 14, 2025 |
| Remnants Of Hurricane Helene | Sep 27, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Landslides, And Mudslides | May 21, 2024 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
75 since 1996: 41 flash floods and 34 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 7, 2024 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 7, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 10, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 10, 2022 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 6, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Jan 1, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 1, 2022 | $500,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 4, 2025. On the afternoon of the 2nd a strong surface low was located over the MN/WI area, with a warm front extending southwest through the OH valley, and a trailing cold front extending SSE through the Ozarks. By 00Z (the evening of the 2nd), a strong convective squall line had developed across the Ohio and Mississippi Valley which slowly continued east through the evening. By early morning on the 3rd this strong, noctur…
Flash Flood · Aug 7, 2024. A cold front moved into eastern Kentucky during the early afternoon hours on Wednesday, August 7th. It then became stationary for much of the remainder of the day, as Tropical Storm (downgraded from Hurricane) Debbie began to move along the southeast Atlantic Coast. This stationary boundary created the instability to produce showers and thunderstorms throughout the afternoon across the region, especially in the so…
Flash Flood · Aug 10, 2022. A stationary boundary lingered near the Ohio River through the day. The boundary provided a lifting mechanism for a moist and unstable air mass over eastern Kentucky. Torrential rainfall on top of already saturated soils caused streams to rapidly rise and flash flood at several locations.
Flash Flood · Aug 6, 2022. With a high pressure center sitting east of the state, Kentucky, along with much of the Deep South found themselves in a strong return flow pattern. This consisted of S to SW winds which were able to pump in ample moisture and warm air from the Gulf of Mexico. However, with no boundaries or airmass changes nearby, the flow aloft was not very strong. High moisture and weak flow materialized into slow moving showers…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Rockcastle County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.